This one is for Lawrence and his question: "What is your opinion on the two creations of mankind?"
Quick and dirty answer. I think the first description is a general one, and the second telling goes more in depth.
Longer answer. Let's look at the verses.
Genesis 1:26&27 -Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:20b-22 But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.-
This method of telling and then retelling an event is known as a doublet. It is common in biblical literature. In most cases one account is general while the other is more in depth.
In this case, Genesis 1 is only concerned with the broad strokes of that first week of creation. The important part is that God created man, not that Adam was made first and then Eve second.
Genesis 2 goes back and begins to fill in details during that first week and what followed after. Of course this double account has led to many theories. One of the most popular is the story of Lilith.
It is said that Lilith was Adam's first wife, created at the same time as him. The myth goes that she was cast out of the garden because she refused to be subservient to Adam. She subsequently became a demonic figure, the first succubus, and God tried again with the creation of Eve. This story is especially popular among some feminist circles for reasons that should be obvious.
About the Author:
Stephen Mayo lives in Montana with his wife, daughter, corgi, and three cats.
You can keep in touch with him on Facebook and Twitter. Find more on his podcast A Side of Mayo. If you enjoyed reading this consider buying him a coffee or supporting him on Patreon.